Roleplay in a fantasy medieval setting where modern sentiments are somehow transplanted as far as gender roles are concerned (ie. women have all the same jobs as men, are considered equal); or would you rather play in a fantasy medieval setting where the sentiments toward gender were more or less like the real medieval sentiments?

RPGPundit

I can play both ways for the most part. Game != reallife. My character's morals !=  me. I understand you may have issues with that given your finicky stands on settings.

P.S. As an example I've played in an Atlantean environment that came complete with REH-era racist overtones. It was awkward for some people at the table, but I was able to largely draw the line between game and reallife in that case. There might have been lines that I'd not want crossed, but I would have been one of the last ones at the table so we never got there.

The former more than the latter, by a long shot. I'm just not all that interested in trying to game out realistic medieval attitudes.

I don't think treating all women characters as second class citizens is going to do anything to enhance the enjoyment of any of my games.  I don't mind the PCs sneaking through the king's harem as a way to offer some cheap titillation, but the king maintains a harem because he's a skeevy old perv who can't maintain a relationship with a proper mistress.  Meanwhile, the queen might have a harem as well.

Also, Amazons rule.

Quote from: jrientsI don't think treating all women characters as second class citizens is going to do anything to enhance the enjoyment of any of my games.  I don't mind the PCs sneaking through the king's harem as a way to offer some cheap titillation, but the king maintains a harem because he's a skeevy old perv who can't maintain a relationship with a proper mistress.  Meanwhile, the queen might have a harem as well.

Also, Amazons rule.

That's a good way to put it. I guess it would be interesting for the PCs to adventure in areas where gender norms are less egalitarian than the modern world from time to time. But to make such things part of the setting as a whole would make that setting less interesting to me.

We're talking about human society, right? Then I want it to be somewhat realistic, i.e. if there's a change in the gender roles I want a reason for it. Gender roles weren't just a big patriarchal conspiracy... But assume that magic (either by direct spell-casting or pure divine favor) is strong enough to radically decrease infant mortality. This would open the gates somewhat. Add in that the elves and/or dwarves don't have those gender roles as much, a female warrior god and some other background elements, and you could have a society that's pretty close to our modern one (in the more enlightened places). But this shouldn't come out of the blue. Don't just shoehorn gender equality in a unchanged down-and-dirty medieval setting. And no supernatural animals should be part of the reasoning...

I often like to play that society does all the stuff society did at the time, but society is wrong, in the ways that we (as modern people) view it to be wrong.

Like, where would Castle Falkenstein be without a rough and tumble Adventuress?  And where would that Adventuress be without a society that can't really make heads or tails of her?

Somewhere in between, really.

One of the biggest things about games that can give them the "rub of the real" is that humans behave like humans. That means alot of them will behave badly.

That said, I am a product of my times, and I am less than tolerant of some things and won't put them in my games in a widespread manner.

It all depends on who I'm playing with.  Honestly, if the players are all men, then I would borach the subject of a more Historically correct game.  If they weren't all men, I probably wouldn't bring it up.

Quote from: ColonelHardissonThe former more than the latter, by a long shot. I'm just not all that interested in trying to game out realistic medieval attitudes.

Same here.  

Also, if you include magic in your setting, there is a whole source of power available to women that can be used to help justify a (more) equal status for them.  Access to an ability to blow violent misogynists up with fire balls could have advanced the cause of women in a magical 'medieval' society.

I still think elements of sexism, classism, and racism can play a role in defining the societies of a fantasy medieval world.   But I don't have a problem with there existing many exceptions to such attitudes -- especially among 'exceptional' individuals (like the PCs).

As my D&D groups are women heavy, I prefer the egalitarian view. Especially as D&D has fuck to do with medieval realities.

But:
I succesfully GMed "Last days of Constantinople", and there I opted for "as realistic as I could get". The female players took male characters and didn`t have any complaints.

For games like L5R or Harnmaster I like it if the female players get female characters which are "special" (widowed countess or female-bushi) in that they are not hampered by gender problems.


So it really depends on what is more important: historical accuratism or having a blast smiting skeletons. In a world of flying carpets and airship ridin`dire orc freebooters, there is no need for hampering them females.

I'll play either if the game is fun. If the game is not fun then it probably doesn't matter what the gender/racial equality level is at.

Quote from: RPGPunditRoleplay in a fantasy medieval setting where modern sentiments are somehow transplanted as far as gender roles are concerned (ie. women have all the same jobs as men, are considered equal); or would you rather play in a fantasy medieval setting where the sentiments toward gender were more or less like the real medieval sentiments?

RPGPundit

I have no perference either way, also long as it makes sense in the setting.

But there has to be one ground-rule: Wenches!
Whether they do it to earn money for law-school or because they've been born into this role, pressured by society, supporting their pock-ridden mother, yadda, yadda...

Wenches.

I tend to prefer the more historical, but independent women are more common in history than is often realised.